


The Last Swim

by Alemantele, Jingushi



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Horror!AU, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 19:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1755317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alemantele/pseuds/Alemantele, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jingushi/pseuds/Jingushi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since the Incident, none of them had ever stepped foot in the Iwatobi Swim Club again. So why was it that now, four years later, they found themselves back here where it all started?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So it's a horror AU, go figure. 
> 
> Inspired by awesome tumblr edit: http://nezubee.tumblr.com/post/61846445598 
> 
> That's basically it--we had lots of fun writing this, so enjoy!

“ _Meow_.”

“Aw, you’re so cute!” Makoto found himself blurting. He covered his mouth, blushing, and glancing around him for any potential eavesdroppers to his embarrassing outburst. He crouched down, waving a finger in front of the tiny ( _so tiny!_ ) white kitten and grinning a bit when it (he? she?) batted at it playfully.

“Too bad I can’t stay here all day,” he sighed. He rubbed the kitten’s head and stood up, dusting his pants. “ _Some_ people need reminding of when to eat and go to school, though. You’d think after so many years--” he cut himself off before he said something really uncharitable, a faint sort of shame bubbling through him. It really _wasn’t_ Haru’s fault…

Waving goodbye at the kitten, he continued his way up the stairs.

He glanced back after a few steps, surprised to find the kitten still there, looking pitifully small under a sky heavy with clouds. It really _must_ have been starving for attention, probably a stray...he resolved to bring it some food tomorrow if it was still there, just as he rounded the corner to Haru’s house.

He knocked for posterity’s sake, though it’s been a long time since he’d needed Haru to open the door for him. “Hello?” he called out. No answer, as usual. The door was unlocked, as usual. Makoto kicked off his shoes and headed upstairs.

It was almost sad that the first room he headed towards was the bathroom, but Makoto had gotten used to Haru’s eccentricities over the years. Honestly, he didn’t _blame_ Haru, but… but there was still something unhealthy about his obsession over water. Especially since…

Makoto shook his head, determined not to let his thoughts wander down that direction again, and climbed the stairs.

Through the small window next to the stairwell opened into a clouded-over sky. The clouds looked dark, as if the sky were about to pour open any second. Makoto bit his lip, hoping that it wouldn’t rain on their way to school--not because they would get wet, no, he had long since gotten used to the presence of water, but because the last time it rained Haru had been rather… indecent out in public.

He sighed, walking past the window and to the bathroom door. He didn’t bother knocking on this one, instead pushing through and expecting to see Haru sitting in the tub, staring blankly at the wall as usual.

Today though, something was different. Namely, Haru wasn’t _there_ today.

Makoto scratched his head, wondering where Haru had gone. He wasn’t in the kitchen--the smell of mackerel cooking would’ve been evident if that were the case. He probably wasn’t still sleeping, because Haru had been waking up with the sun ever since Makoto had known him. If he wasn’t in the bathroom then where…where was he?

The image of a dark sky framed by the window flashed in his mind again and Makoto sprinted back downstairs. A roll of thunder sounded from outside and Makoto watched in dismay as it started to rain--no, not rain, _pour._

The backyard door was open. Typical Haru and his recklessness.

Makoto almost cursed aloud when he found Haru standing in the middle of the downpour. Of _course._ The only time Haru had bothered getting dressed properly in the school uniform and it had to be the day where Haru suddenly felt the need to stand outside in the water instead of simply soaking in his bathtub. Of _course._

“Haru!” Makoto called over the rush of water. “Haru, what are you _doing--_ get inside _now!_ ”

Haru turned, slowly, and stared at Makoto.

“What are you looking at? You’re getting soaked!”

Haru inclined his head in a nod, quirking an eyebrow as if Makoto had just said something incredibly stupid.

Makoto huffed, irked by Haru’s ever flippant attitude. “Don’t give me that look, Haru! Just get inside! We’re going to be late for school.”

Was that--was that a shrug? Makoto decided to just be grateful that Haru was coming inside at all.

He grabbed a couple of towels from a nearby rack (there were towels _everywhere_ in Haru’s house, just as well, he supposed) and handed them to the dark-haired teen. “I’ve made you a bento lunch today--I’ll give it to you once you’re all dried up, alright?” Augh, they were going to be _late._

He went to grab an umbrella from the closet, and came back to Haru staring morosely out the living room window. Sopping wet, of course, with the towels hanging limply in his hands. “Honestly, what’s up with you today? You’re acting rather strange,” he frowned, poking his friend’s arm. Haru started as if he’d been electrocuted, eyes wide in the pale light and mouth open as if to say something.

Then he seemed to shake himself, taking the towels and drying his hair. Makoto let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding. He exchanged the damp towels for a bento box and their morning routine went on as usual, as if this little hiccup never happened.

Sprinting the last block to school under an umbrella that really did nothing shelter two teenagers from the rain, Makoto wondered what Haru would have said, back then. He wondered if Haru was ever going to start talking more, to emerge from the shell he’d been lingering in for over four years.

The bell rang, distantly, and he shoved all the thoughts back into the recesses of his mind where they belonged. They were late for school!

***

If anyone thought to ask Rei how he ended up spending his lunches with the strange group of boys that used to be part of some swim team way back in elementary school, he wouldn’t have an answer for them.

If anyone thought to ask Nagisa how Rei ended up spending his lunches with the strange group of boys that used to be part of some swim team way back in elementary school, he...well, he wouldn’t have an answer for them either.

He distantly recalled being the one to pull the other teen into the circle. There was possibly some element of coercion in the beginning, and a lot of food-related bribery, but anyways. All that was swept away in the wake of the fun that came afterwards.

Rei-chan was so _cool_. 

That much was evident as Nagisa watched Rei push up his glasses in the most _refined_ way possible. And the way he talked--Nagisa wished he could sound as sophisticated and smart as Rei-chan when _he_ talked to other people. His smile widened slightly as he stared up at Rei-chan, admiring even the way he raised a hand to occasionally brush the hair out of his eyes.

“Nagisa-kun?”

Nagisa started as his name was mentioned. “Yes, Rei-chan?”

Rei narrowed his eyes, and Nagisa’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze was focused on Nagisa and Nagisa alone. (Wooow, Rei-chan’s eyes were really pretty, weren’t they?) “Nagisa-kun, I asked you if you thought going to the pool was a good idea.”

Eh? Nagisa must’ve missed something. “What pool?”

Something in Nagisa deflated a little at Rei’s exasperated sigh, and he vowed to pay more attention when Rei talked next time. (Well, more attention to the _words_ that Rei-chan said. Nagisa knew that he already paid more than enough attention to Rei-chan himself.)

“The abandoned swimming pool, Nagisa-kun,” Rei reiterated. “I was informing everybody that there was an abundance of rumours going around the school about a supposedly haunted swimming pool. I find this highly irregular and I was suggesting that we all go there this weekend to investigate.”

Abandoned swimming pool? Nagisa felt a shiver run down his back and suddenly it was a lot harder to keep the smile on his face. It…it couldn’t be _that_ abandoned swimming pool, right?

He was suddenly aware of the nervous look on Makoto’s face. (Haru’s face stayed impassive as usual, but then again, Haru’s face never changed.)

Rei continued talking, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere that had settled over the entire group, “I consider myself to be a very logical individual, of course, and so I felt that it would be a disservice to the school environment if I did not go to this supposedly haunted pool and dispel any false rumours. I was hoping that you all would accompany me.” Here Rei smiled awkwardly, as if he was waiting for rejection or something silly like that.

For once, Nagisa didn’t feel the urge to immediately agree. He peeled his gaze away from Rei’s earnest eyes and looked away. 

There was silence, just for a moment. Rei’s smile grew more and more strained as it stretched on, and Makoto’s face had settled into a small frown.

Nagisa fidgeted his seat.

Outside, the rain drummed on the rooftop of the school. The rain hadn’t let up once since this morning. Nagisa chewed on his lip, watching the fat rain droplets splash onto the glass. He wondered what to say--go to the abandoned swimming pool or disappoint Rei? Neither option sounded particularly welcoming.

“Well, how bad could it be?” he found himself saying brightly. “It’s just an abandoned swimming pool, after all. Best case scenario--we find a friendly ghost or something and get famous!”

He could feel all eyes turn to him. “Find a friendly ghost and get famous?” Rei repeated, incredulous.

Nagisa flushed. Well, he’d managed to turn the gloomy mood in the group around at least, hadn’t he? “I...that is...why not?” he said, wincing at the defensive note in his voice. Perhaps if he wished hard enough, the floor would swallow him up.

Rei turned away, pushing the bridge of his glasses up again. Nagisa braced himself for some super-intelligent, cutting remark from the other teenager and--wait. Was that a smile? Was Rei trying to hide a smile?

Suddenly his heart felt ten times lighter. He was the _best_. Rei--was talking again.

Right. Nagisa should listen.

“--likely just a series of mundane circumstances. Broken pipes and a strange wind, and all that. Perhaps rotting floors to produce a creaking sound?”

Mako winced. “You’re not exactly making the place sound inviting,” he said weakly. “This sounds like it could be dangerous. Right, Haru? Haru, back me up here.” Haru shrugged.

“In all probability, the floors are probably fine. They are concrete after all, and it’s only been--what? Four years since the swimming pool closed down?” Rei’s delicate fingers closed around his chopsticks as he ate some more of his lunch. “But if you don’t wish to go, I won’t make you. It’s your choice in the end, after all.”

Makoto hesitated, and Nagisa took the opportunity to say, “Mako-chan probably won’t go. He’s scared of broken-down places like that.”

Rei raised his eyebrows as Mako sputtered. “No--well, yes! But I’m not _that_ scared. And anyways, someone’s gotta watch over you guys while you go traipsing in creepy abandoned buildings.” Just as expected. Thank goodness. Rei or no Rei, Nagisa wasn’t going to go into someplace like that without dragging everyone else with him too.

“So you’re coming after all?” Rei asked.

Mako worried at his lip, before nodding. “But maybe Haru shouldn’t…”

“Why not?” Rei cocked his head, and Nagisa _really_ shouldn’t be finding that action as endearing as he did. This was a serious matter, after all.

“Well, I mean,” Makoto floundered. “It’s a swimming pool and you know how--”

“Sounds interesting.”

Mako froze. Everyone stared at Haru, who just looked on blankly. Wow, Nagisa could barely even remember the last time he’d heard Haru talk. Had it been a month ago, perhaps? A month and a half?

“You want to go?” Mako demanded.

Haru nodded. Then bent down to pick at his mackerel lunch, lapsing back into silence.

The tension having drained out of the room, Nagisa went back to staring at-- _appreciating_ Rei’s face. Rei had brought a laptop to school, and was casually scrolling through something or other on the screen as he ate. It was really impressive, the way he managed to not drop any bits of rice on the keyboard. Nagisa wondered what he was looking up--probably something very important judging from the very serious (and very cute) look on Rei-chan’s face.

“Rei,” Makoto suddenly spoke up, his voice snapping Nagisa out of his reverie. “When do you want to go to this swimming pool anyways?” Nagisa thought he sounded a little bit nervous, but Rei-chan didn’t seem to notice so he didn’t point anything out.

Rei looked up from the laptop screen. He set his chopsticks down on the bento lid so he could turn the screen towards the rest of the group. Nagisa leaned in, peering at what appeared to be a map of the area near their school.

“I’ve just been searching up the location,” Rei-chan started, as precise and intelligent sounding as usual. “It’s not too far from here, actually--I would estimate the location of the pool to be around ten minutes' walking distance from school.”

Before Makoto even had a chance to say anything, Nagisa jumped up excitedly. “We can go after school today!” he exclaimed.

The surprised and slightly pleased look on Rei-chan’s face make Nagisa just about melt on the inside. He grinned wider, gesturing towards the laptop screen. “You said it’s not far, right, Rei-chan? That means we can go today--you can get rid of those nasty rumours faster and then everybody will love Rei-chan!”

“I would be agreeable to anytime,” Rei-chan replied, picking his chopsticks back up. The disappointment of having not received a more enthusiastic reply must’ve shown on Nagisa’s face, because Rei-chan quickly shot Nagisa a small smile before resuming his lunch. Nagisa tried not to blush.

Makoto seemed to pale slightly. “Nagisa, that might not be the best idea…”

Nagisa pouted. “Why noooot, Mako-chan?” he whined.

Why did Makoto have to be such a worrywart all the time? It was just an old swimming pool--probably not even the one they had all been thinking of! Besides, Haru wanted to go too and they would have Rei-chan with them! Rei-chan and his _research_ would protect them all!

Makoto frowned, scratching his cheek. “Well it’s still raining outside after all,” he said, gesturing towards the window.

Strangely enough, as soon as everyone in the group turned to look out as well, the rain seemed to slow. Perhaps it was just Nagisa’s imagination, but the droplets did seem to be smaller and less frequent.

“It’ll stop by the end of this day!” Nagisa declared, grinning triumphantly.

“What if it doesn’t?” Mako asked, still sounding hesitant.

Rei looked up from his lunch and smirked slightly. “I believe Nagisa-kun is right, Makoto-senpai.” At Mako’s aghast look, he held up a finger and continued, “but, if it does not stop raining then I suppose we can’t go today after all.”

Makoto’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine,” he muttered, “if it stops raining then we can head over after school.”

***

It had stopped raining.

“Great! We can head over now,” Nagisa was saying cheerfully. Makoto would like very much to disagree. The thunderstorm had only _just now_ ended, what if the building was leaky? Or the integrity of the floor compromised as a result of all the water? They could all get seriously hurt! Unfortunately, no one else seemed to share his misgivings, and so he was left to fret quietly behind the group as they all made their way down to the abandoned swimming pool.

A thought struck him suddenly. “What if it gets dark? We don’t have any flash lights at all! Not to mention food…”

Nagisa waved offhandedly. “We’ve all got cellphones, right? Plus it’s not like we’re staying there for long--just to check the place out!”

“I hope that’s satisfactory with everyone?” Rei called from up ahead.

“I...guess that’s alright.” He glanced pleadingly up at the sky. Despite still being overcast, it remained stubbornly rain-free. Definitely not enough to convince Nagisa and Rei to call this whole thing off, then.

It wasn’t even that he was frightened of that place!...well, alright. Maybe it was. But--there was something about the whole place that gave him the creeps whenever he thought about it. Something _wrong_ about it, the feeling you got around old cemeteries and temples fallen into disuse, of something crawling over your skin. Or, perhaps, he was just imagining things. That was just as likely. Right?

The swimming pool was really far too nearby, and before he know it he had to stop himself from walking straight into Haru’s back. He looked up, stared up at the letters that used to be so familiar to them all. Years without maintenance had faded the colourful decals and left eerie black pits where the eyes of the cartoon swimmer were painted. Makoto shivered.

“The Iwatobi Swim Club,” Rei said, sounding a bit uncertain despite himself. “Here we are.”

“Thank goodness it’s not nighttime, right? I imagine it’d be _really_ creepy then.” Nagisa peered through the chain link fence that closed them away from the building. “So are we just going to climb over this?”

Rei looked it up and down. “Might as well. Who wants to go first?” He glanced both ways down the street. “We should hurry. Someone could come soon.”

There really _was_ no way out of if, was there. “I’ll do it.”

“Wow, Mako-chan! How brave of you!”

Makoto was already heaving himself over the top of the fence, glad that all those years of swimming had done something, at least. “Just want to get this over with,” he grunted, landing shakily on his feet.

The others followed quickly, Haru especially seeming to almost fly over the chain links. Makoto was long past being jealous of his friend’s agility but sometimes...no.

He adjusted the strap of his book bag over his shoulder, already regretting not leaving it at home. The steps seemed alright when he climbed them, nothing overly haunted about them, or anything. He tried the door.

Perhaps it’d be locked? Sadly, it seemed not. The handle gave way under a little bit of wiggling and the door squealed open and...okay, that shouldn’t be happening, should it? Shouldn’t the door have been locked or something? Management would have made sure about that, wouldn’t they?

A dark hallway stretched on before them, and Makoto could almost _feel_ his soul shrinking away.

“Huh,” Nagisa said, behind him. “It’s cleaner than I imagined it.”

Rei walked ahead, his footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor. “There is a strange lack of debris or animal droppings,” he mused.

Makoto stayed resolutely near the doorway, hoping that Rei and Nagisa would get tired of this eerie, dark, probably haunted, building soon.

He was just about to turn to say something to Haru, but before he could open his mouth, the dark haired boy had already wandered up ahead to where Rei was standing.

There was no choice now. Makoto gulped and started down the long hallway as well. The afternoon light streamed in through the thick blinds on the windows, casting an ethereal glow onto the floor. The half-faded light did nothing to calm his itching nerves--in fact, Makoto thought it was almost creepier than a dark hallway.

Rei was scrutinizing the plaster wall, stopping to read the posts on the bulletin board. The sight of the familiar newsletters and announcement make Makoto pause. It hadn’t really hit him until now that this was _their_ old swimming club. Sure it was their old _abandoned_ swimming club, but it was still theirs, right? He smiled softly--it couldn’t be that bad. Of course not.

He was just imagining things.

Still, Makoto couldn’t shake the creeping feeling still plaguing him. It was only because of the strange filtered lighting that caused the entire hallway to look distorted.

A sudden crash of thunder from outside sounded, and Makoto yelped, turning to look out the window.

“Look!” Nagisa shouted, pointing. “It’s raining again!” He ran up to the windows, pressing up against one and staring outside. Indeed, the rain droplets had started coming down again with a vengeance, splattering the glass of the windows.

“That’s strange,” Rei mused, walking over to join Nagisa. “I was certain that the rain had stopped for the day.”

Oh _no_ it was raining again, and what if it didn’t stop and went on all night long? Would they be stuck here? Or would they have to walk back in what looked like a nasty storm? They had _school_ the next day--it wouldn’t be a good idea to be stuck here _or_ walk home and get sick. Makoto chewed on his lip, hoping that the rain would stop again, if only for a little bit.

“Guys, when the rain stops, we’re leaving, okay?” he asked.

Rei nodded. “That seems to be the logical conclusion. We don’t want to get caught in the downpour. I suppose we’ll just have to hurry with the investigation then.”

“Where are we going next, Rei-chan?” Nagisa asked excitedly.

“The pool.” Except, it wasn’t Rei who had spoken. Everyone turned to look at Haru, who was still standing by the bulletin board, and who had just spoken up for the second time that day.

Makoto scratched his head. “I guess we should all go to the pool then,” he said, still internally marveling at Haru’s progress. His friend had been mute for almost half a year since…since the incident. Now, Haru had just spoken _twice_ in a day. Perhaps this abandoned building wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“That does seem to be where more of the rumours originated from,” Rei confirmed. “We should head over immediately.

They walked down the halls. Outside, the rain fell, and the sound of droplets hitting glass was almost soothing. Still, Makoto couldn’t help but think the water added an extra dimension of eeriness to the hallway. Before, the hall had only been half lit and dusty looking; now, the dim light filtering in through the water droplets on the window made the entire hallway look as if it were submerged underwater.

Makoto shook his head. He was only imagining things. They would go to the pool and then Rei would figure out what was causing the strange noises and then they would leave.

The purple-haired teen stopped in front of a set of double-doors, peering through the dusty glass. Frowned. “Get your phones handy,” he warned. “It looks pretty dark on the other side.” He pushed one of the doors open.

Makoto’s hand flew to his jacket pocket, gripping his phone tightly. He stepped into the large room cautiously, after the others. Something crunched beneath his feet, and he skittered back for a second before realizing it was a broken tile.

Closer to the edge of the pool, Nagisa held his phone above his head while Rei was scanning the walls. Their screens illuminated the pool in flashes--a pipe here, some cracked steps there, a layer of brown dust lingering in the corners.

Nagisa whistled. “Forget what I said about it being clean. Wow, I can’t believe this place fell apart so quickly since the last time we’ve been here.”

“You’ve been here before?” Rei asked. “How long ago was that?”

A pause, slight enough that you’d only notice it if you were waiting for it. Nagisa shuffled on his feet, the soles of his shoes rasping against the tile. “Well, the last time was right before it closed, actually…”

Makoto found himself instinctively glancing at Haru, and yelped as he was blinded by the glaring light coming from his friend’s phone. “Augh, don’t point that at me!” He blinked spots away, just in time to see the corner of Haru’s mouth twitch slightly as he obediently turned the device away, towards the ceiling. Haru’s eyes turned away as well, flicking over the ceiling and walls. Was he looking at them? Or was he remembering?

“It seems there’s nothing out of the ordinary here,” Rei said finally, and Makoto heaved a silent sigh of relief.

“We should probably head back then,” he offered. “Before it gets really dark.” The other teen nodded.

Makoto didn’t think he’d ever heard a sound as sweet as the pool door swinging shut behind him. Or seen a sight as sweet as the front door appearing around the corner. “Great, we can leave,” he sighed, pushing on the handl--

The handle clicked, unmoving. What--

“Oh, is it locked?” Nagisa said, before Makoto could work himself up into a real panic. “The manager or someone must have came by and locked it while we were inside.”

That...well, that made sense, he supposed. “So what do we do now? We’re trapped inside!”

Nagisa grinned. “Not to worry. There’s a back door! Remember?”

“What if that’s locked too?” Makoto briefly entertained mental images of Rei smashing through a window and them all climbing through, ninja-style. It would never work.

“Worth a try at least.”

Makoto nodded hesitantly, and then they were all headed towards the backdoor. He realized that the twisting hallways were still familiar, that he still remembered walking this path to where their parents had been parked in the back.

He turned back to see that Haru was staring again at the bulletin board hanging on the wall. “Hey,” Makoto said, turning to tug on Haru’s arm, “c’mon let’s go.”

Haru gave Makoto a blank-faced stare, shrugged, and then starting walking ahead.

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. He had contingency plans in case Haru wanted to stay, or suffered some sort of breakdown at this old place, and he was honestly glad that his friend seemed to be cooperating (for once) this time.

His relief didn’t last for long. Halfway down the hall, Makoto turned back to check on the rest of the group, wondering what Nagisa was up to this time.

But…

Makoto blanched. “Haru, have you seen Nagisa or Rei anywhere?” (No, this wasn’t happening, Nagisa had been _right there_ just a couple of minutes ago, _no._ ) “Haru?”

He received only silence as a response.

 ***

“Reeei-chan,” Nagisa called, “hurry up! We’re going to lose Mako-chan and Haru-chan if you don’t hurry up!”

Rei was still shining his phone light into one of the empty changing rooms adjacent to the pool. “Just a second, Nagisa-kun. There was another story I forgot to tell you guys about--something about the boy’s changing room and strange sounds of the shower running when no one’s inside? I want to check to see if there’s a leak in the pipe or something like that.”

Nagisa pouted, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Everything Rei said was making sense, and Nagisa knew it shouldn’t take too long and that Makoto and Haru wouldn’t have gone too far ahead, but he was still worried. “You can check the room later, Rei-chan!” he said, hoping they could get moving again soon. “I’ll even come back with you and everything!”

“Are you sure?” Rei asked, turning away from the door to look at Nagisa.

Nagisa was too worried about finding Makoto and Haru again that he barely paid attention to the adorable gleam in Rei’s eyes. “Yes!” he said, rushing forward to grab Rei’s arm. “Now let’s go!”

He started down the hallway, dragging Rei behind him. The taller boy seemed reluctant to go, judging by the way he kept glancing curiously down the halls, but Nagisa wanted to find Makoto and Haru _now._

Besides, he already knew what went down each hall. Here was the coach’s office, where they had sometimes snuck in to play pranks. Here was the break room, where they’d gather to share snacks.

Nagisa was almost too engrossed in his memories to register Rei-chan tugging on his arm. But he had made a personal vow to start paying more attention to Rei-chan, and so Nagisa looked up right on cue. “What is it?”

Rei looked nervous. “Nagisa-kun, I can’t see Makoto-senpai or Haruka-senpai anywhere…,” he said, the words trailing off into silence.

“Eh? I’m sure they’re just up ahead.”

They hurried on down the hall, Nagisa craning his neck and hoping to catch a glimpse of their friends. Makoto was really tall and they should’ve been able to see them from really far away, right? Nagisa’s fingers twitched in anxiousness.

“Nagisa-kun,” Rei-chan said again, “I don’t see them anywhere.”

The rain sounded like it was falling harder now, beating down ruthlessly on the roof. And was it just him, or was the entire building getting darker?

Nagisa shivered. “Let’s keep going,” he said quietly. “We can get out the back door and find them then.”

They walked in silence. Rei had powered down his phone to conserve its battery, and was following Nagisa closely enough that the shorter boy could hear the other’s breaths.

“Hey, hadn’t we passed that door twice already?” he said suddenly. Nagisa jumped at the sound, and looked towards where Rei was pointing. It was the break room.

“I...guess we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.” Nagisa giggled nervously. “I mean, this place is kinda confusing. I got lost on my first day here, did you know that?”

“Oh, really?” Rei sounded genuinely curious. Nagisa felt a smile form on his face.

“Yeah! I was looking for the change rooms, but I guess I must have gone into the wrong door or something because I ended up hanging around some weird storage closets on the second floor.” The light from his phone swung back and forth as he gestured with his hands. Rei chuckled. “I think it was Haru that finally found me, like an hour later. He was so nice back then, just guided me back to the change rooms without saying anything. I mean, Rin _laughed_.”

Rei raised his eyebrows. “Rin? Was that another one of your swimming team members?”

Nagisa froze. “I-I...yeah, he was,” he stuttered. He hadn’t meant to bring that up.

“I don’t think I’ve seen him with you guys though. Does he go to our school?”

Oh man oh _man_ this was not a conversation he wanted to get into in a place like this. Not at _all._ “Well--” he started, not sure what he was going to say.

“Nagisa--”

“What?” Nagisa asked, turning around and nearly crashed headlong into a door.

Rei rubbed his forehead. “That’s what I was going to warn you about,” he sighed. “Are you _sure_ we’re going in the right direction?”

Nagisa grinned, not feeling sure at all. “Of course! The back door, right? It’s this way, you’ll see.” And he laid a hand on the handle and pulled. He was almost certain he’d gone in this direction before to get to the alternate exit. This had to be it, right?

They stepped forwards into darkness. His foot bumped into something and sent it skittering across the floor. A...wait, how…?

“We’re back at the pool!” Rei exclaimed. “I thought you know where you were going!” His words bounced off the concrete walls. 

“I...guess this was another entrance into the pool?” Nagisa offered weakly. Funny, he hadn’t remembered seeing another door, but there was a lot he could have missed. Their single light source threw dark shadows across the ground, doing nothing to dispel the oppressive gloom.

Beside him, Rei shuddered. “I suppose it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine a ghost haunting a place like this. It’s certainly got the atmosphere for it. I do wonder where the rumours of a redhead came from, though. There’s nothing red anywhere in this room.”

Silence. Nagisa could feel the hairs on his arms standing on end. “A red head?” he croaked.

Rei nodded. “Something about the spirit of a kid who died here or something. The person who told me this even gave me his name--Kim or Jin or--”

“Rin.”

“What?”

Nagisa stared at the opposite wall. “Rin had red hair. Well, it was more magenta, but he’d beat up anyone who’d dare call it that.”

Surely Rei was smart enough to figure it out. Nagisa had never considered himself a subtle person. Surely Rei-chan was using all that considerable brain power to piece it all together. Then Nagisa wouldn’t have to explain--could just shove it all aside and then they’d continue on and figure out where the back door was and it would be all behind them.

“ _What?”_ asked Rei-chan, and Nagisa’s heart sank.

He wondered if…if Rei just simply wasn’t getting it or if he didn’t _want_ to get it and…

Nagisa sighed. “I suppose I should explain,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“I--Yes, Nagisa-kun, you should.” There was something in Rei’s voice that made Nagisa want to run over and envelop the taller boy in a hug. Something that seemed almost hysterical.

It was quiet for a moment, while Nagisa gathered his thoughts. Somewhere, the echoing sound of a dripping pipe reached their ears. (And that was funny, wasn’t it? The abandoned swimming club was far too old for there to still be running water anywhere at all.) The pool seemed to fill the entire room with its emptiness, and Nagisa lowered himself to sit down on the edge, his legs dangling where there should’ve been water.

Rei sat down beside him, a worried look still etched on his face.

“It was around four years ago,” Nagisa started, swinging his legs to and fro. He tried to stop his hands from fidgeting.

Nagisa suddenly felt his throat close up, and he wasn’t sure how to continue. It _was_ around four years ago but that simple phrase didn’t seem to encompass everything properly at _all._ Beside him, Rei was staring at Nagisa inquisitively, and Nagisa was still hoping that he could figure it all out himself.

When Rei didn’t say anything and the room started filling up with the uncomfortable sound of the storm still raging outside, Nagisa finally realized he’d _have_ to say something.

“So it was around four years ago, and we were all in the same elementary school, and Haru was just as obsessed with water then as he was now,” Nagisa started. “And then Makoto and I were also in the swimming club and we all became friends.” His legs swung some more over the still empty pool.

He realized Rei was still staring at him when he looked up to find himself staring into startlingly honest indigo eyes. Nagisa looked away.

“Then there was this new student who came. Rin. Rin took one look at Haru and just demanded that we all swim together in the relay and I think Rin was the one who made Haru laugh for the first time. Or, at least, I hadn’t seem him even smile until Rin came. We even won the relay. And we were all pretty happy for a little while.” Nagisa looked down at his hands, fingers clenching and unclenching as he talked.

“I don’t really know what happened between Rin and Haru, but Rin told us he was moving to Australia one day and Haru looked upset and then they made a plan to swim together, one last time--” Here Nagisa broke off, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

He could feel Rei’s gaze on the back of his head, and for just a second he wished everything--all the memories, all the things he didn’t even know himself--could be swallowed up.

“What happened, Nagisa-kun?” Rei’s soft voice stood out from the heavy pitter patter of the rain.

Nagisa opened his eyes and looked up. His eyebrows knitted together as he swallowed back the lump in his throat. “I…I don’t know, Rei-chan,” he said hoarsely. “I never got to find out what happened that day.”

No one really knew what happened that day. Well, at least, he and Makoto had no idea. The only person who was still around to remember was Haru, but even Nagisa knew that asking Haru about Rin was a Bad Idea.

“So…,” Rei seemed to want to say something, and Nagisa suspected he only held back for fear of hurting his feelings.

“So that’s what happened,” Nagisa said softly. “The next day, we came back to school and Haru was sitting there with this blank look on his face--you know, the look he _always_ has on his face. And that was the end of it.”

In the quiet stillness, Nagisa could hear Rei’s breath catch. The silence seemed to stretch on and on and Nagisa kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

Next would come the pitying and the sympathy, he knew, and Rei, being Rei, would probably make it sound actually sincere and heartfelt and beautiful. It still wouldn’t change the fact that Rin was gone, and Haru was... _gone_ , and then he’d feel even worse because he didn’t deserve any of the attention.

It was so quiet, his ears rang with a low sort of rumble. He wondered if he should break the silence, or if Rei was actually going to say something, or...

“Hey, there’re the double doors!” His voice cracked like a whip, startling even himself. The acoustics of the room gave his words a hollow warble that seemed to come from every direction at once. Rei stumbled on a piece of loose tile and nearly fell over, giving a croaking groan.

“Sorry about that though. But hey, look! We can go out this way and retrace our steps. I’m _sure_ I’ll get the path right this time.” He practically skipped around the pool to the doors, eager to be out of such a place. He’ll make it up to Rei for getting the two of them lost and scaring him once they’re outside.

Rei’s footsteps behind him started, then paused. “Nagisa, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“That--burbling sound. Can’t you hear it?” Rei was scanning the room--a futile task, as the phone was in Nagisa’s hands and illuminating their way out.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Nagisa said, trying to sound reassuring. He pushed on the door handle.

“No, I’m _certain_ I’m hearing something. I know this is an old building, and any number of sounds could be considered normal, but I don’t think--” Rei trailed off. “Nagisa? Nagisa, are you alright?”

“The door...” Nagisa’s croaked. “It’s locked.”

A long pause. And, in the lull, a soft burble that was definitely _not_ his ears ringing from the silence. Like the faintest whispers of water lapping at the edge of a pool, or…

“ _Locked_?” Rei squawked. “We just came this way ten minutes ago!”

“Well, it _is_ , alright?” Nagisa snapped. His hands shook. “I don’t know why.”

“Let’s use the other door--” Rei was already turning and striding in the direction they came. Nagisa made to follow, but froze when his foot came down with a _splash_ on what should have been tiled ground.

The sound--was it getting louder? It wasn’t so much of a bubbling as much as a low rumble, humming in the air.

“ _Nagisa_.”

“What, Rei?” Nagisa shouted, swinging his phone around to find the other teen. The light it emitted was about as useful as a glow-in-the-dark bracelet now, somehow.

“Nagisa, did you say something?” Rei asked, sounding distant. “I heard my name!” A pause, and some clicking sounds. “Damn, it seems this door is blocked as well. What’s going _on_?”

_Nagisa, Nagisa_.

Not Rei’s rich voice, but something higher, softer, floating through the air and settling on his shoulder like a cold hand. Nagisa yelped and leapt, landing ankle-deep in water that wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Get over here, Rei!” he gasped. “Better to stick together!”

Rei shouted back something intelligible, and sounds of splashing joined everything else. Whether it was from Rei or something else, Nagisa couldn’t tell. Water lapped at his knees.

“Say something else! I’ll try to find you!” He stepped forwards.

The ground seemed to _slide_ under his foot, and he fell sideways. His grip on his phone slipped, and before he could catch it again it hit the water with a flash and crackle of electricity, plunging everything into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

“Haru, this--this isn’t funny. I think I just heard something.”

Makoto’s voice echoed strangely down the empty hallway. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to the sort of silence that always surrounded Haru and began to distinguish it from regular silence. Haru’s presence was companionable. He might’ve not talked much, but Makoto always knew he was there.

Now, every instinct of his was screaming to turn around and find Haru, because Haru didn’t seem to be _there_ anymore. “Haru?” he called into the darkness. “Where did you go?”

Still nothing.

Makoto took a deep breath, braced himself, and turned around.

As he had expected, and hoped against, Haru was nowhere to be found.

A sort of dull headache had started to pound at his head, as if the very air around them was pressing down on him. Where was Haru? Makoto really didn’t trust Haru to wander off on his own, what with how careless the other boy was prone to being. Where was Haru?

“Haru?” he called again half heartedly. Wherever Haru was now, he was either not inclined to answer or simply didn’t hear him.

Great. He knew it was a bad idea to come here. First Rei and Nagisa disappear and now Haru was gone too. In front of him, the still dark hallway loomed, and Makoto knew that there was no way to go but forward. He hesitantly took a few steps, hoping to whatever deity was up there that all his friends would be okay.

Of course it was a bad idea to come here. Of _course._

He hoped that Haru hadn’t gotten himself in trouble, wherever he was.

The rain was still pouring outside, though the light had faded. Now, the dark clouds seemed to cover the entire sky and water droplets relentlessly pounded against the windows. Makoto shivered, wondering if it was actually getting colder or if it was just his nerves.

He just needed to get to the back door. He could see the corner up ahead now that would take him out of the building. He just needed to get to the back door and Rei and Nagisa and probably Haru would all be waiting for him then. Never mind the ever pouring rain--they’d find some way to get home. He just needed to get to the back door is all.

Makoto’s steps quickened in his haste, and soon he was almost sprinting.

He rushed to the end of the hall, turned the corner and there it was, the back door. Makoto pushed on the handle, ran through and…

And why was he back in the pool?

Goosebumps prickled on Makoto’s skin as he turned around, surveying the room. Why was he back at the pool? He was so sure that he had been going to the back door--there was even a sign that read ‘EXIT’ in bright glaring letters on top and…

Makoto sighed. At this point, him going insane was looking to be the better of the few options. The building wasn’t really haunted, was it? It couldn’t have been.

He turned again, walking around to figure out what had happened.

As he walked, his shoes squeaked on the tiles. Makoto paused, bending down. Was that… _water_ on the ground? He could’ve sworn that the pool was empty and that there was no trace of water last time the had come here. Besides, why would there be water? The pool was abandoned and had been for _years_ but…

But it was undeniable. The ground was wet. And was that a strange shine on the walls?

Makoto stood up, walking--squeaking--across the room and reached out to find that it really was damp to the touch. There were even a few water droplets still hanging on the wall and puddle on the ground.

Perhaps he was just freaking himself out again. After all, it _was_ raining outside. Probably there was a leak of some sort somewhere.

Sighing, he wiped his hand on his pants leg and turned around.

“Eeep!”

There Haru stood, not thirty centimetres away from his nose. Makoto gasped for breath, hand clutching his chest. “So _there_ you were,” he rasped. “Don’t do that to me.”

Haru cocked his head, flat eyes gleaming.

Makoto shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s get out of here, this place gives me the creeps.”

They were just out the door when Haru asked, “Do you know the way out?”

Makoto paused, both at the question and the fact thatHaru had spoken again. “Well...no.” he admitted. Seeing as how the door he’d _thought_ was the back door turned out to be another entrance to the pool. “Do you remember? You spent the most time here, out of all of us, after all. Well, except for--” _Rin_ , he stopped himself from saying.

Luckily, Haru just nodded, not giving any indication he’d heard Makoto’s slip up. He started forwards and Makoto followed, grateful that one of them at least seemed to know what they were doing.

It was funny--he’d read about all these accounts of people going back to childhood houses and schools and being surprised at how small they seemed, as if they’d somehow outgrown them.

Here, though, the shadows on the walls seemed to loom up over them and every hallway appeared twice as long as he remembered. Rather than growing out of it, he might as well have reverted back to that child, knowing nothing and being confused at his friend’s sudden distance.

“Haru, I really hope you know where you’re going,” he said, chuckling nervously.

He got no answer, but that was to be expected.

“I wonder where Nagisa and Rei are. They probably already found the back door and are waiting outside for us. Where did you go back there, by the way?”

Still no answer. He was more babbling at this point than anything else--anything to break the silence. It felt like the walls were closing in on him, so he fixed his eyes on Haru’s back instead.

“Ah well. At least we’re back together, and you know the exit. Man, my parents are going to yell at me so much. Luckily I don’t have to look after Ren and Ran today...hey, did you hear that sound?”

At this, Haru turned around, brow furrowing.

Mako could feel his shoulders beginning to tense. “It was like some kind of weird...rumbling noise. Like the ocean, or something.”

“Probably the thunder.”

Makoto blinked. “Ah...yeah. Perhaps.”

“The weather forecast said it’d be a thunderstorm today, you know.”

“Huh, is that so?” Makoto had to consciously stop himself from tripping over his own words, unprepared for an answer. This was more talk he’d heard from his friend since...well, it felt like since ever. That had to be a good thing, right?

“He was dead when I came to the pool that day, you know.”

Makoto stopped, mid-step. Haru strode onwards, and Makoto jogged to catch up. “ _What_?”

Haru didn’t reply, and it was only when Makoto grabbed Haru on the shoulder that Haru turned around. His eyes were blue, and dull. “He was dead when I came to the pool that day, you know,” Haru repeated, the intonation the same as before.

Makoto rubbed his neck, unsure of how to respond.

“Rin, that is,” Haru said, apparently feeling the need to clarify.

“Haru,” Makoto started. When he had thought about all the things that might get Haru to start talking again, this topic hadn’t even crossed Makoto’s mind. This was…whatever this was, it wasn’t healthy. “I think we’ve been wandering around here for way too long. Maybe we should try and get out of here first? Then you can tell me whatever you want to tell me.”

Haru shook his head, shrugging Makoto’s hand off and walking forward again. “Aren’t you curious?” he asked, something strange in his normally flat voice.

Makoto hurried to match Haru’s pace. “Not right now, I’m not!” he cried, trying to get Haru to at least slow down. “Where are you _going?”_

“He told me he wanted to race,” Haru said, ignoring all of Makoto’s attempts at stopping him and continuing to walk steadily forward. “He told me he wanted to race before he left. One last race he said.”

This wasn’t good. Was Haru even headed towards the back door anymore? (And, a part of him thought, did it even matter if he was headed there? All the hallways in the school seemed to lead back to the pool.) Haru was still talking--and by now Makoto had gotten over the shock of hearing Haru’s voice--and Makoto grew more and more worried at his words.

“I didn’t want to at first. Rin was my best friend. I didn’t want to race him, but he made me. So I came here after school. And then he was there. In the water. Dead.” Haru’s voice grew louder and louder. His walking quickened.

A bolt of thunder made Makoto jump and grab onto Haru’s arm. Haru looked down at Makoto’s hand impassively.

“He wanted to swim with you guys too,” Haru said, his footsteps stalling. “He told me that before. That he wanted us all to swim in the relay again.”

“Haru, please stop.”

“And then he died. It really was his last swim.”

“Haru, _please._ Stop it. You’re worrying me.”

Haru looked him in the eye, and Makoto started at the strangely clear blue they were. He cocked his head slightly. “Why?”

“This isn’t healthy, Haru,” Makoto said, the words coming out in a rush. “Please, Haru, just stop until we find a way out of here and then we’ll get you some help, okay? Please.”

“Nobody helped Rin when he died,” Haru said, almost to himself. He had started walking again. “Then Rin didn’t get to swim with us anymore. And he was sad. I’m sad about it too.”

Was this just a result of years and years of repressing the memory? Was this torrent of words Haru’s breakdown or something like that? God, Makoto just _knew_ they should’ve gotten Haru counseling or something. And he knew that they shouldn’t’ve come here--what was Makoto _thinking_ when he agreed to this?

“He wanted to swim with us again,” Haru murmured. “He wanted to smile with us again.”

The rain poured, and occasional flashes of lightning made the room seem larger. The hallway was all harsh lines and sharp shadows. Haru’s face was shrouded in darkness, all his features impossible to make out except for those startlingly clear ocean blue eyes.

“Makoto,” Haru said, his head tilting to the side almost unnaturally.

“Y-yeah, Haru?”

“Why couldn’t Rin swim with us again? What did he do?” Haru asked the question almost like a two year old would ask why the sky was blue.

“I-I don’t k-know.” Makoto was genuinely shivering now, his teeth chattered as the temperature plummeted. Thunder and lightning melding into one, and Makoto wasn’t sure if the cacophony was in his head or not.

“Let’s go swimming now, Makoto,” Haru said.

“What? Now? But there’s no water in the pool!”

Haru chuckled, and Makoto’s eyes widened. Haru. Chuckled. And--

“There is now,” Haru said, staring off somewhere in the distance. “Let’s go swimming, Makoto. I want to swim with Rin again. He’ll be so happy to see me. To see us. Let’s go swimming, Makoto.”

And then Haru smiled.

Haru _smiled--_ a wide grin that flashed a row of white pearly teeth--and it was the most terrifying thing Makoto had seen that night.

There was a crash, somewhere off in the distance. The entire hallway was plunged into darkness, and Haru’s eyes seemed to _glow._

Then, he closed them, and Makoto was blind.

***

What happened next was this: He panicked.

It wasn’t something he was especially proud of.

He threw out his arm in front of him, trying to grab Haru and stop him from doing...doing what, he had no idea. Only that he had a sickening sort of sinking feeling in his stomach. His fingers hit air, and he whirled, heart pounding in his ears, breath coming short and fast. Haru wasn’t there. He was trapped in an abandoned swimming facility during a storm and his eyes were wide open but he couldn’t see a thing and Haru wasn’t there and that _smile_.

Haru... _wasn’t_.

Makoto’s back hit the wall and he slid down, arms clutching each other for lack of anything else to hold. He distantly heard sobbing pants, and figured that was likely him. Probably for the best, because the alternative was screaming. Haru--Haru?--Haru’s eyes had been glowing. Thunder crashed outside and he _knew_ he should have been able to see the lighting. Only he hadn’t. Just a pitch, black, darkness.

His bag was still slung haphazardly over his shoulder, and he squeezed the strap with desperate fingers. Thank goodness he still had that, that and his phon--

\--where was his phone? His pockets were empty--he must have dropped it somewhere--he--

More thunder. Then, something else. Tinkling...the splashing of water. Not rain. Makoto fisted his hands over his ears, willing the noise that didn’t belong to go away. Something cold and wet slipped down his back, and a whisper brushed past his ear. _Let’s go, Mako--_

He was imagining it. He must have been imagining it.

(He wasn’t imagining it. Was that water soaking into his shoes?)

(Yes, yes it was.)

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually he could make out flashes of light before his eyes. He lifted his head and blinked. He could...see, again, somehow.

Haruka, though, was nowhere in sight. Instead, in front of him was a series of footprints, shining slickly in the low light, leading off down the hallway. Not back to where they came from, but at this point Makoto knew better than to think this hall lead anywhere other than back to the pool.

 _Let’s go swimming now, Makoto_.

He climbed to his feet, book bag slapping uselessly at his side. Perhaps if he went back, in the opposite direction, he’d find himself back at the main entrance. Or encounter a window on the way there--he could break the glass, climb through, get _away_ from here, and just go home…

 _Haru_ , though. It was always Haru. Everything since he was twelve years old had been about Haru, Haru, was that boy doing alright? Makoto, would you bring him some lunch, he’s probably still in shock, poor child, his parents aren’t home often, make sure you look after him, alright? He doesn’t have anyone else. And as he grew older, Makoto, you need to wake up earlier, or you won’t be able to check up on Haru in the mornings, Haru’s still recovering, you can tell--he never talks, poor boy, it’s been so many years but I suppose it’s not something that you can just move on from--you should be grateful it wasn’t you, such a pity, and he was such a swimming prodigy too--Makoto, it’s Haru, Haru…

The wind howled. Whether it was inside the building or outside, he couldn’t say.

The sharp stab of guilt that usually accompanied his slips into resentment hit hard enough to make him flinch. It wasn’t Haru’s fault. He was the big brother, he should have been able to fix it all. He should never have let them come to this place.

The dark ends of the hallway yawned open before him. The trail of footprints glowed a faint blue, daring him to follow.

And so he did, water splashing around his feet. Because as much as he might feel selfishly about the whole thing, he would still duck his head and obediently follow the instructions without fail like the hypocrite he was.

A cold wind pushed at his back the whole way down to the pool.

He wasn't surprised to find himself back at these doors, he really wasn't. But then a crash of thunder sounded from outside and the wind blew in one of the windows and suddenly there was a storm right in the middle of the room and there was water everywhere and Makoto wanted to curl up in a corner and let it all be over now.

God, where was Haru?

Makoto shivered, feeling his teeth chatter as he rubbed his arms to no avail. He tried to look around, but cried out when water whipped into his eyes.

It was pitch black outside, and Makoto could barely see anything in the wind and rain.

“Haru!” he shouted into the darkness. “Haruka! Where are you?”

 _Haru,_ the wind seemed to whisper back, _Haru. I know Haru._

Makoto squinted, reaching up a hand to shield his eyes. The pool water--the pool was full?--sloshed around, somehow the wind rolling it into waves as high as Makoto’s waist, but there was no one in sight.

 _Makoto,_ the wind whistled around him, and Makoto wrapped his arms around himself try and ward off the ghostly gale. _Makoto’s here!_

He was making it up--th--this was all in his head and it wasn’t real. It was just a freak storm, that was all, and all Makoto had to do was find Haru and get the hell out of here and they could meet up with Rei and Nagisa later and then the next day they might be a little wet and none of their homework would be done but it would all be okay again it--it had to be--this wasn’t _real--_

 _Haru, Makoto’s looking for you,_ and at this point it was impossible to pretend he was hearing anything other than a _voice_ now. Makoto gritted his teeth, unsure of whether the wetness of his face were tears or more rain water or pool water. His breath came in short pants. The voice--it--it sounded like a little kid, it said _Makoto_ the same way Ren or Ran would say _nii-san_ and Makoto--

Makoto _knew_ that voice.

 _Gosh, Haru, you always did love the water,_ the voice said, and Makoto started. Haru was here? But he had looked and there was no one else in the room except for him (and that _voice)_ and the rain and wind and pool. Where _was_ he?

“Haru!” he yelled, his throat feeling hoarse. “Haru!”

The wind whistled, and some part of Makoto thought it almost sounded like laughter.

(But it couldn’t it it couldn’t be laughing why was this happening?)

 _I told you to wait,_ the wind was behind him now and around him and it was everywhere and the voice was in the storm itself. Makoto dropped to his knees, feeling his already soaked pants hit a puddle on the ground, and dropped his head into his arms. What was this happening? _You’re only supposed to swim when I tell you too, Haru! Now look, you’ve made Makoto worried._

Makoto wanted to scream. Because he knew that voice, still remembered it sometimes when Haru spoke or when Haru seemed less vacant than usual and--

God, it couldn’t be. Could it?

_If Makoto’s worried he can’t swim with us properly._

There was a low keening coming from somewhere--maybe it was Makoto himself, or maybe it was just the wind again, whipping through the building.

_Gosh, Haru, this happened with Nagisa too. I just wanted to swim with everyone. I’m glad you understand me, ne? You’ve always understood me, Haru--that’s why we’re best friends!_

It--

Makoto shivered, shaking his head. It _couldn’t_  be.

_(Rin.)_

Then, a flash of lightning, quick and sure. It didn’t last for long, but it was long enough for Makoto to get a good look of the entire room from the space between his arms.

What he saw was this: The pool, blue waters clear and bright; a flash of red-magenta hair; and then Haru, his face serene, submerged in the pool, hair floating in a dark halo around his face. He wasn’t moving.

That was when Makoto screamed.

 _Shh, Mako, don’t be sad. Haru’s where he always wanted to be, isn’t he?_ The wind ran through his hair, throwing it in disarray. He cringed away (--to where? It was _everywhere--_ ) and felt the temperature in the room plummet. 

It took far, far too long to find his tongue again. “W-what about Nagisa? And Rei?” he bit out through chattering teeth. _This wasn’t Rin, it couldn’t be, Rin would_ never _do anything like this…_

 _Rin was_ dead _._ Haru was--

Makoto reeled, legs suddenly feeling like jello. Stumbled, stepped sideways. His foot came down on something soft.

He glanced down. The very air _screamed_ \--

***

_Nagisa slipped._ And Makoto flinched. The voice had Rin’s petulance down _perfectly_. _I’m sure he’s fine, though. I mean, I slipped too and look at me!_

The breeze whirled giddily, throwing up spray cold enough to feel like icy daggers on Makoto’s skin. Or would have, probably, only he couldn’t feel anything on his skin anymore.

Nagi--the thi--his foot was still touching it. He couldn’t bear to move it at all, somehow. He couldn’t _move_. Purple and blonde hair swayed back and forth as the dark current whooshed in and out over the broken tile, their arms crossed neatly and unnaturally over sodden school uniforms.

Water lapped hungrily at his legs.

_Will you swim with me, Mako-chan?_

He felt like he was watching everything from the wrong end of a long tunnel. Black misted the edges of his vision--or perhaps that was the shadows in the room, closing in on him. His body felt like it was made of lead: heavy, and entirely not his.

_Mako-chan! Makoto, yoU’RE **NOT LISTENING TO ME!**_

His back slammed against the wall, and he lost his balance, landing heavily on his butt. The voice--no, not one voice anymore but many--and layered--reverberating across the walls with a wail like an ocean storm.

 ** _MAKOTO, YOU’RE MY FRIEND, RIGHT?_** The wind snarled and snapped and lashed at his face. **_SWIM WITH ME, MAKOTO._**

Cold surged up against his thighs and a heavy, suffocating weight was crushing his chest. His arms were pinned to the wall and his mouth was open and he was desperately trying to draw breath but there _wasn’t any air._ And all that his stupid, stupid mind could throw up was of Haru, face down in the water, hair like kelp drifting around his head. And of goldfish. Just two--there was only ever just two, but now there were none...Was he going to die here? Drown just like the rest of them? _The end_ , no more him, no more anything…

**_LET’S GO SWIMMING._ **

(Perhaps he should do just that.)

(It would be so _easy_.)

 _Al...alright,_ he heard himself say.

And as quickly as it had started, the wind died down and the water retreated. Oxygen rushed into his lungs and Makoto heaved, gasping for breath. The air was absolutely still, heavy with expectation.

Waiting for him.

Makoto licked his lips, tasting brine on his tongue. “Alright,” he croaked out. “But...on one condition.”

**_Yes?_ **

“After...after we swim, you leave.”

**_Leave?_ **

His arms shook as he pushed himself up--how was he ever going to swim? “Yes, leave. You were moving away, weren’t you? This was supposed to be your last swim with us.” _With Haru._ Haru, Haru again, it should have been Haru here, breathing, talking sense into Rin. Haru was Rin’s best friend, not him. Haru could _swim_.

 _Haru tried to swim_.

If Haru couldn’t survive, what hope did he have?

**_Oh--oh, how silly of me! I can’t believe I forgot. Of course I’ll go after the race, Mako-chan--I still gotta pack for the trip. The flight’s tomorrow, you know._ **

He nodded.

**_C’mon, c’mon, get in the pool, Makoto._ **

A gust of wind came rushing in from the window then, sharp and impatient. The force of it struck Makoto on the back of his knees, and Makoto stumbled forward on the slick tiled floor. Rin had always been reckless and impatient and he was feeling the brunt of it now as his knee landed painfully on the ground.

“Rin, I can’t swim with you if you keep knocking me around like this,” he muttered under his breath, pushing himself up again.

The wind swirled, softer this time but still just as overwhelming. Makoto walked, slowly and deliberately, to the end of the pool, staring at the clear waters.

He cringed back. Haru--Haru was--Haru was still in the pool.

“R-rin,” he started, rubbing at his arms with trembling fingers.

**_What_ ** **is _it, Makoto? I thought we were going to swim now._**

“C-could you pl-please,” Makoto said, trying to get his voice to _stop shaking,_ but that was difficult with the way his teeth were chattering. His shoulders heaved as he shuddered, the cold and wet seeping into his clothes, but, really, it could’ve been his nerves wracking his body with shaking spasms and--

Makoto took a deep breath. “Could you please get Haru out of the pool,” he said through gritted teeth. “Please,” he added again for extra measure.

God, ask him to swim with Rin, _sure._ Ask him to swim with Haru’s--Haru in the pool? Another shudder ripped through him at the thought.

The wind whistled through the window, and Makoto imagined Rin was considering his words. Rin--Rin probably didn’t really understand the implications of any of this and that was the worst part, really, that he could barely muster up the strength to be mad at the kid because who was he to blame Rin for wanting to just…just swim with his friends again one last time?

 ** _Alright,_** said the wind, the voice echoing all around him, **_I guess I can do that._**

Makoto let out a breath as the pool water started swirling along with the wind. A globe of water rose from the centre and--

And Makoto hadn’t looked away in time.

There he was. There _Haru_ was. His eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly agape, his face almost… almost serene. Strands of dark hair framed his face, waving along with the water surrounding him. Even his hand was slightly outstretched, as if he had been reaching for something.

Makoto squeezed his eyes shut.

It hurt him to admit this, but--

But Haru had always looked at home in the water, and if you just ignored the slightly blue tinge to his lips and the way he didn’t exactly move, the picture was almost…almost normal. God knows how many times Makoto had walked into Haru’s house to find him in the bathtub, submerged, only the top of his head obscured by black floating hair visible…

The globe of water was pulled from the pool and gently set down on the side. It landed with a splash, but that didn’t really matter when the entire room was already sopping wet.

Makoto knelt at the edge of the pool, staring at the water that still slapped at the side.

He hesitated, perhaps for too long, because another sharp gust of wind struck him in the side.

And then he was in the water again.

 _Cold_ , was his first thought, arms and legs moving into a breaststroke almost on instinct. His second was, _wait, did Rin say how long this race was?_ The water was cold enough to chill him to the bone, and hypothermia was beginning to sound like an actual concern. If he couldn’t finish, Rin...Rin would still be here. And who knows what he’d do if there was no one left to race with him.

It was hard to keep his head above the water--it surged up and around him, buffeting him constantly. He was half-carried by the current, his strokes seeming as ineffectual against the pressure as the swatting of a housefly. Where before it had seemed playful, giddy even, the wind and water now moved with a single-minded determination. The roar was deafening. _Don’t fight it._

The dark wall of the pool suddenly loomed out of nowhere, and he fumbled the turn. The impact was strong enough to jar his teeth. Makoto grimaced as precious bubbles of air escaped from his mouth, only to be whipped away in the shadowy wake of... _something_.

Streaks of dark magenta-red flashed past his vision as--

**_Haha Mako-chan, you’re so_ ** **slow _._**

In the dark waves of water, Makoto didn’t really _hear_ the words so much as _felt_ them.

The waves crashed against him, and Makoto fought to keep his head above water. He was still in his blazer, and his shoulders tensed with the weight of the fabric made heavy with water. He coughed, slapping the surface of the pool with a hand as he tried to stay afloat.

 ** _Mako-chaaaan, hurry up,_** said the water, and Makoto tried to turn to see where Rin was. He couldn’t wrap his mind around how Rin _moved--_ was it that he moved too quickly that Makoto could barely follow along or was it that Rin was simply everywhere at once?

It didn’t take much for him to realize he was going to lose. The water _shifted_ when Rin moved, sloshing over the sides of the pool as impossible waves rippled.

Makoto took a deep breath, looked around one last time, and then he dove.

The water wasn’t cold anymore so much as piercing. Makoto squeezed his eyes shut and swam. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going, and he only surfaced to breathe, nothing more. Makoto knew that the muffled sound of Rin’s echoing laughter would be keeping him up later than night (and, honestly, everything _else_ he had seen that day) but Makoto kept swimming because at least finally finally this nightmare would almost be _over_ and--

Makoto swam.

Rin… _swam._

And then, after what felt simultaneously like seconds and years later, it was over.

**_Ha! I won, Mako-chan! Look, I won!_ **

At the far end of the pool, the water was rippling, splashing up and down excitedly. Makoto slowly swam to the ledge, dragging himself up. His arms were shaking, from the cold or the nerves or the sheer exhaustion he didn’t know. But it was finally _over._

His clothes were sodden. He fell back into the pool three times before he managed to collapse on the side, and as soon as he felt the cold air gust around him he started shivering. Makoto’s teeth chattered, his whole body shook and he felt goosebumps on his skin and it was so cold but it was finally _over._

Nevermind…nevermind...it--he

Makoto stood, slowly still, and made his way to the other end of the room. His hand clenched on the handle of the double doors. He wondered if escape would finally lie on the other end.

“C-c-can I go n-nnow?” he asked, his lips trembling.

The wind picked up speed, and Makoto’s entire body shuddered as it swirled around him. **_Man, Mako-chan, don’t you want to stay? We’d have so much fun together! Like with Nagisa-kun and Haru!_**

Makoto jerkily shook his head. “Y-you have a p-plane to c-catch, remember?”

**_Oh. Oh, that’s right. I do. I have to go back now, don’t I…_ **

The wind slowed again, and everything in the room seemed to slow down. The leaves and debris that had rushed in from the open window settled, lying limply on the ground, wet with rain or pool water. The rain slowly dripped to a stop as well.

Makoto stood, breathing heavily, rubbing his arms around himself.

Would Rin leave?

 ** _Bye then,_** Rin’s voice came sharp and petulant, and a war of emotions stirred within Makoto at the return of the familiar tone. _Gee, it was really fun, Mako-chan. I guess I’ll see you guys again when I come back from Australia and we’ll swim again then, kay?_

A weak and faint smile slipped out before Makoto could stop it. “I guess,” he said, trying to inject as much cheer into his voice as possible.

His voice cracked.

Rin’s laughter echoed through the building again. _Gosh, I hope Haru’s still swimming when I get back. Swimming with Haru’s the best._

Makoto turned away. Rin was leaving. That was good enough for him. Slowly, still so slowly, he turned to leave, his shoes squeaking on the still wet ground.

But then--before he could push on the door--he heard a shaky cough from inside the room, the only sound in an otherwise dead room. Makoto whirled around, his eyes wide. Was it Rin again? Playing tricks on him?

Or…

Makoto’s heart thudded in his chest, he squeezed his eyes shut and-- _please please please please--_ turned around to see a head of messy indigo hair, shifting around slightly in the corner of the room.

And then he was running again, without even a seconds’ thought.

 ***

Rei woke to loud voices and a crick in his neck. Probably because he had been sleeping at his desk again. What had he been studying this time? He hoped his mom wouldn’t yell at him too much…

...Wait, this was the texture of his couch, not his bed. As he grew more and more awake, he began to notice other things--the weight of a blanket someone had thrown over him, the jingle of the news on the television, the dampness of his shirt…

“Finally awake?”

Groaning, he opened his eyes. “Mom?” he croaked. His mouth tasted disgusting, as if he’d swallowed an ocean or something in his sleep. “Why’m I on the couch?”

She tsked, the harsh wrinkles around her eyes becoming more pronounced. “I should be asking you that, Rei! I was just about to call the police when you didn’t come home for dinner yesterday, when a boy just turns up at our door from a party with you passed out over his shoulder!”

What? “A party?” Rei asked, pushing himself to a sitting position. His clothes stuck uncomfortably to his skin.

His mother was frowning in disapproval. “A party, yes! Rei, I can’t believe you’ve forgotten about what we told you. High school is an important part of your academic career, and you can’t expect to do well if you start hanging out with the wrong sorts of people. Why, my friend’s daughter--”

“--I don’t remember a thing, Mom.” Rei said hurriedly, partly to cut her off before she could get into another story and partly because it--everything, all of it--was beginning to worry him. He wouldn’t have gone to a party without telling his parents, would he? And he surely would have _remembered_ about it.

Her face instantly softened, and she ushered him to his feet. “Oh, dear! You hadn’t used any drugs or beer or anything like that, have you? You never know what they put in those these days...you seem alright, though. Eyes clear, a normal temperature--”

“-- _Mom!_ ” he protested, batting her hand away. “I’m perfectly fine! School’s in an hour. I’ll just take a shower right now and eat some breakfast.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” She sounded a bit doubtful, but he was sure he’d clear that misconception from her mind once he cleaned himself up some.

The blaring of the television followed him upstairs. Something about two students drowning in an abandoned swimming pool during the storm yesterday. Rei shook his head, sighing to himself. What a stupid thing to do, that was, and during a _storm_. Did no one know anything about the dangers of old buildings?

Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he pushed it away. If it was some forgotten assignment or something, it could wait until _after_ his shower.

By the time he arrived at school, exactly an hour later, he’d forgotten completely about it.

 ***

“Oh, hey, Rei. Are you feeling alright?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It was...pretty awful, what happened last night, wasn’t it, Rei?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“...”

 

“Do I know you?”

 ***

Makoto stumbled to school, his fingers white knuckled against the strap of his book bag.

The world around him seemed almost hazy. The small town looming around him ominously. Whenever the wind shook tree branches and bushes, he flinched back ever so slightly.

School passed in a blur. Makoto sat, took notes, ate lunch on the roof with the wind ruffling his hair and staring out at dark clouds on the horizon. He didn’t spare any more glances to the dark haired underclassman with the red framed glasses. The boy was chatting with a few other people, doing homework, breathing still. That was good enough.

It was…it was probably for the best that he didn’t remember. (Why didn’t he remember? Was it Rin again? Or just the trauma? Or…)

Makoto leaned his head back, feeling the wire mesh dig into his scalp.

The sky was grey. Clouds hung lazily in the sky, dark and rolling. Makoto wondered if the sound of thunder crashing was real or just in his head. His fingers tapped against the ground. It was dry. Makoto breathed a sigh of relief.

He had seen the news--the old abandoned swimming club looked just the same as usual, creaky pipes and all. There were no reports of strange noises or water everywhere or anything out of the ordinary.

Beyond the edge of the school roof, the ocean lapped. Makoto grimaced, still tasting brine and chlorine in his mouth.

The air smelled of rain.

An involuntary shudder ripped through his body at the memory, and he wrapped his arms around himself, feeling his own shallow breaths come and go and come and go and--

He closed his eyes.

The sky was grey, and Makoto prayed that it wouldn’t rain.


End file.
